U.S. patent application number 15/291573 was filed with the patent office on 2017-04-20 for front and back printing on security document substrates.
The applicant listed for this patent is Entrust Datacard Corporation. Invention is credited to Patrick C. CRONIN.
Application Number | 20170106665 15/291573 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58518271 |
Filed Date | 2017-04-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170106665 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CRONIN; Patrick C. |
April 20, 2017 |
FRONT AND BACK PRINTING ON SECURITY DOCUMENT SUBSTRATES
Abstract
Techniques are described for printing on front and back surfaces
of security document substrates in a manner that conserves use of
print ribbon, thereby extending the life of the print ribbon. In
general, the printer controller knows the content, as well as
locations and colors, of what has been printed on the front or
first surface of the security document substrate. The printer
control also knows the content, as well as locations and colors, of
what is to be printed on the back or second surface of the security
document substrate. When the back surface of the substrate is to be
printed, the printer controller determines, for a particular color,
whether any of the printing on the back surface would overlap with
the printing on the front surface. For locations where there would
be no overlap, the printer can reuse the section of print ribbon
that was used to print on the front surface to print on the back
surface.
Inventors: |
CRONIN; Patrick C.; (Savage,
MN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Entrust Datacard Corporation |
Shakopee |
MN |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
58518271 |
Appl. No.: |
15/291573 |
Filed: |
October 12, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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62242533 |
Oct 16, 2015 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B41J 2/325 20130101;
B41J 35/38 20130101; B41J 33/54 20130101; B41J 13/12 20130101; B41J
2/32 20130101; B41J 3/60 20130101; B41J 33/44 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B41J 2/32 20060101
B41J002/32 |
Claims
1. A method of printing on a security document substrate,
comprising: using a print mechanism to print on a first surface of
the security document substrate using a section of a print ribbon;
flipping the security document substrate over so that a second
surface thereof is available for printing using the print
mechanism; using the print mechanism to print on the second surface
of the security document substrate using the section of the print
ribbon that was used to print on the first surface, wherein the
printing on the first surface does not overlap the printing on the
second surface.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the security document substrate
comprises a card.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the card comprises an
identification card, a driver's license, a credit card, a debit
card, a gift card, a phone card, or a health card.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the print ribbon is monochromatic
or multi-color.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein after the first surface is
printed: transporting the security document substrate to a
reorienting mechanism located downstream from the print mechanism;
flipping the security document substrate using the reorienting
mechanism; and transporting the flipped security document substrate
back to the print mechanism.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising moving the section of
the print ribbon in a first direction while printing on the first
surface; after the first surface is printed, moving the section of
the print ribbon in a reverse direction opposite the first
direction to re-position the section of the print ribbon for
printing on the second surface; and moving the section of the print
ribbon in the first direction while printing on the second
surface.
7. A method of printing on first and second opposite surfaces of a
card, comprising: printing on the first surface of the card using a
section of a print ribbon, and thereafter printing on the second
surface of the card using the section of the print ribbon; wherein
the printing on the first surface does not overlap the printing on
the second surface.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the card comprises an
identification card, a driver's license, a credit card, a debit
card, a gift card, a phone card, or a health card.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the print ribbon is monochromatic
or multi-color.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein after the first surface is
printed: transporting the card to a card reorienting mechanism;
flipping the card using the card reorienting mechanism; and
transporting the flipped card from the card reorienting mechanism
for subsequent printing on the second surface.
11. The method of claim 7, further comprising moving the section of
the print ribbon in a first direction while printing on the first
surface; after the first surface is printed, moving the section of
the print ribbon in a reverse direction opposite the first
direction to re-position the section of the print ribbon for
printing on the second surface; and moving the section of the print
ribbon in the first direction while printing on the second surface.
Description
FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of this disclosure relate generally to systems,
apparatus, and methods for printing on front and back surfaces of
security document substrates to create personalized security
documents, such as plastic cards and passports.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many forms of personalized security documents are known
including cards, such as plastic or composite cards, that can serve
as identification cards, driver's licenses, financial cards (e.g.,
credit cards, debit cards), gift cards, phone cards, health cards,
or the like, as well as passports. Personalized security documents
often have images, data and other information printed on front and
back surfaces thereof. A typical example of a conventional printing
process on a card includes printing on the front surface of the
card using a first section of print ribbon, thereafter flipping the
card over, advancing the print ribbon, and printing on the back
surface of the card using a second section of the print ribbon.
SUMMARY
[0003] Techniques are described for printing on front and back
surfaces of security document substrates in a manner that conserves
use of print ribbon, thereby extending the life of the print
ribbon. In general, the printer controller knows the content, as
well as locations and colors, of what has been printed on the front
or first surface of the security document substrate. The printer
controller also knows the content, as well as locations and colors,
of what is to be printed on the back or second surface of the
security document substrate. Assuming printing occurs on the front
surface first, when the back surface of the substrate is to be
printed, the printer controller determines, for a particular color,
whether any of the printing on the back surface would overlap with
the printing on the front surface. For locations where there would
be no overlap, the printer can reuse the section of print ribbon
that was used to print on the front surface to print on the back
surface.
[0004] The security document substrates can be those used to
produce personalized security documents such as cards, including
plastic or composite cards, that can serve as identification cards,
driver's licenses, financial cards (e.g., credit cards, debit
cards), gift cards, phone cards, health cards, or the like, as well
as passports or passport pages.
[0005] In one embodiment, a method of printing on a security
document substrate includes using a print mechanism to print on a
first surface of the security document substrate using a section of
print ribbon. Thereafter, the security document substrate is
flipped over so that a second surface thereof is available for
printing using the print mechanism. The print mechanism is then
used to print on the second surface of the security document
substrate using the section of the print ribbon that was used to
print on the first surface, wherein the printing on the first
surface does not overlap the printing on the second surface.
[0006] In another embodiment, a method of printing on first and
second opposite surfaces of a card includes printing on the first
surface of the card using a section of a print ribbon, and
thereafter printing on the second surface of the card using the
section of the print ribbon, wherein the printing on the first
surface does not overlap the printing on the second surface.
DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a printer having a print
mechanism that can be used to perform the printing described
herein.
[0008] FIG. 2A illustrates a front or first surface of a security
document substrate in the form of a card illustrating the locations
of printing on the front surface (in solid lines) and locations of
printing on the opposite back surface (in broken lines).
[0009] FIG. 2B illustrates a back or second surface of the card of
FIG. 2A illustrating the locations of printing on the back surface
(in solid lines) and locations of printing on the opposite front
surface (in broken lines).
[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of a print ribbon showing a
section of the print ribbon used to print on both the front and
back surfaces in FIG. 2A and 2B.
[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates an example method of printing described
herein.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the card demonstrating the
meaning of overlap, or lack of overlap, between the printed images
on the surfaces of the card.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] The techniques described herein can be utilized when
printing on any type of substrate using a print ribbon to extend
the life of the print ribbon. In one embodiment, the substrate is a
security document substrate. Examples of a security document
substrate include, but are not limited to, cards, including plastic
or composite cards, that can serve as identification cards,
driver's licenses, financial cards (e.g., credit cards, debit
cards), gift cards, phone cards, health cards, or the like, as well
as passports or passport pages. For sake of convenience, this
detailed description will describe the substrate as being a card.
However, it is to be realized that the techniques described herein
can be applied to printing on other substrates as well.
[0014] The printing described herein can include the printing of
personalized information on the card or the printing of
non-personal information on the card. For example, printing the
intended card holder's name, address, photograph, account number,
employee number, signature, or the like, on the card are examples
of printing of personalized information because the printing is
specific to, or assigned to, the intended card holder. Printing a
company logo, a contact phone number or email address, card use
information, or other general card information are examples of
printing that involve non-personal information because the printing
is not specific to the intended card holder and identical
non-personal printing is often applied to surfaces of cards of
other card holders.
[0015] With reference to FIG. 1, an example of a portion of a
printer 10 that can be used to implement the printing techniques
described herein is illustrated. In general, the printer 10
includes a housing 12 (shown in dashed lines) in which a print
mechanism 14 is disposed. The printer 10 can be a desktop card
printer or a portion, such as a module or station, of a central
issuance card machine.
[0016] A desktop card printer is a type of printer that is
typically designed for relatively small scale, individual card
personalization and production. In these machines, a single card to
be personalized is input into the printer, which typically includes
one or two personalization/processing capabilities, such as
printing and laminating. These printers are often termed desktop
printers because they have a relatively small footprint intended to
permit the machine to reside on a desktop. Many examples of desktop
printers are known, such as the SD or CD family of desktop card
printers available from Entrust Datacard Corporation of Shakopee,
Minnesota. Other examples of desktop card printers are disclosed in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,434,728 and 7,398,972, each of which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0017] A central issuance card machine is typically designed for
large volume batch production of personalized cards, often
employing multiple processing stations or modules, including one or
more printing mechanisms, to process multiple cards at the same
time to reduce the overall per card processing time. Examples of
central issuance card machines include the MX and MPR family of
central issuance machines available from Entrust Datacard
Corporation of Shakopee, Minnesota. Other examples of central
issuance machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,825,054,
5,266,781, 6,783,067, and 6,902,107, all of which are incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety.
[0018] Returning to FIG. 1, in this example the print mechanism 14
is configured for direct to card printing in which an ink or dye is
transferred by heat and pressure from a print ribbon onto a surface
of the card. However, other types of print mechanisms that use a
print ribbon can be used, include a retransfer printing
mechanism.
[0019] The print mechanism 14 includes a ribbon supply 16 that
supplies a print ribbon 18 for use in the printing. The print
ribbon 18 is directed past a thermal print head 20 that is
actuatable toward and away from an opposing platen roller 22. Used
print ribbon 18 is wound onto a ribbon take-up 24.
[0020] A card 26 to be printed can enter in the direction of the
arrow from an input 28. During printing, the card 26 travels in the
nip formed between the print head 20 and the platen roller 22, in
particular between the print ribbon 18 and the platen roller 22. A
first surface 30 of the card 26, which can be the front surface or
the back surface, faces upward toward the print ribbon 18, while a
second surface 32, which can be front surface or the back surface,
opposite the first surface 30 faces downward. Although the surfaces
30, 32 are described as facing upward and downward (i.e. the card
travels in a horizontal orientation in the printer 10),
respectively, the printer 10 can be configured such that the card
travels in a vertical orientation with the surfaces 30, 32 facing
forward and rearward.
[0021] After the first surface 30 is printed, the card 26 is
transported by a suitable transport mechanism 34, for example one
or more pairs of rollers, to a card reorienting mechanism 36
located downstream from the print mechanism 14. The card
reorienting mechanism 36 receives the card 26 and flips or
reorients the card 26 180 degrees so that the second surface 32 now
faces upward while the first surface 30 faces downward. The card
reorienting mechanism 36 can have any configuration suitable for
achieving its function of reorienting the card 26. Examples of card
reorienting mechanisms are described in U.S. 2013/0220984 and U.S.
Pat. No. 7,398,972 each of which is incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety.
[0022] After the card 26 is flipped, the card 26 is transported
back to the print mechanism 14 to a position ready for printing on
the now upward facing second surface 32. In one embodiment, the
printing on the second surface 32 can occur as the card 26 is
transported in a direction toward the input 28. In another
embodiment, the card 26 can be transported back to just upstream of
the print mechanism 14 and printing occurs on the second surface 32
as the card 26 moves in a direction back toward the card
reorienting mechanism 36.
[0023] The ribbon supply 16 and the ribbon take-up 24 are also
reversible so that the travel of the ribbon 18 can be reversed in
direction as indicated by the arrow 38 after the printing occurs on
the first surface 30. As discussed further below, this permits the
section of the print ribbon 18 that was used to print on the first
surface 30 to be brought back into position to be used again to
print on the second surface 32.
[0024] After printing on the first and second surfaces 30, 32 of
the card 26 is complete, the card 26 can be output from the printer
10 via the input 28. In other embodiments, the card 26 can be
output from the printer 10 via an output 40 which can be located at
any position on the printer 10, for example in a wall of the
printer 10 generally opposite the input 28.
[0025] The printer 10 further includes a printer controller 42 that
controls the operations of the printer 10. In some embodiments, the
printer controller 42 can be part of and integrated into the
printer 10 as in the example illustrated in FIG. 1. In other
embodiments, the printer controller 42 can be externally located
away from the printer 10, but suitably connected thereto for
controlling the printer 10.
[0026] Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, an example of intended
printing locations on the surfaces 30, 32 of the card 26, and the
relative positioning of the intended printing locations on the
surfaces 30, 32, is illustrated. In these figures, it is assumed
that the first surface 30 is the front surface of the card 26 and
that the second surface 32 is the back surface of the card 26. In
this example, the surface 30 is intended to have two areas of
printing 50a, 50b (shown in solid lines in FIG. 2A; shown in broken
lines in FIG. 2B) while the surface 32 is intended to have two
areas of printing 52a, 52b (shown in broken lines in FIG. 2A; shown
in solid lines in FIG. 2B).
[0027] As suggested by FIGS. 2A and 2B, the areas occupied by the
intended printing 50a, 50b on the surface 30 do not overlap with
the areas occupied by the intended printing 52a, 52b on the surface
32. As used throughout this application, including the claims,
overlap refers to any portion of the intended printing area on one
surface of the card 26 not overlapping with or extending over any
portion of the intended printing area on the opposite surface of
the card 26. For example, referring to FIG. 5, there would no
overlap between a printing area PA.sub.f on the surface 30, for
example the printing area 50a or the printing area 50b in FIGS. 2A
and 2B, and a printing area PA.sub.b, for example the printing area
52a or the printing area 52b in FIGS. 2A and 2B, on the surface 32
if an axis A-A that extends perpendicular to the surfaces 30, 32 of
the card 26 and that extends through any part of the printing area
PA.sub.f does not extend through any part of the printing area
PA.sub.b on the opposite surface. Likewise, there would no overlap
between a printing area PA.sub.f on the surface 30 and a printing
area PA.sub.b on the surface 32 if an axis B-B that extends
perpendicular to the surfaces 30, 32 of the card 26 and that
extends through any part of the printing area PA.sub.b does not
extend through any part of the printing area PA.sub.f on the
opposite surface.
[0028] Returning to FIGS. 2A and 2B, in conventional printing
techniques, the printing 50a, 50b would be printed using a first
section of print ribbon, while the printing 52a, 52b would be
printed using a second section of print ribbon. However, the
printing 50a, 50b only uses a portion of the dye or ink on the
first section of the print ribbon, leaving the remaining dye or ink
on the first section of the print ribbon unused. Because the
printing 50a, 50b does not overlap the printing 52a, 52b, the
unused dye or ink on the first section of the print ribbon can be
used to print the printing 52a, 52b on the opposite surface 32.
[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates a section 60 of the print ribbon 18 used
to print the areas of printing 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b in FIGS. 2A and
2B. Taking the areas of printing 50a, 50b as an example, when the
areas of printing 50a, 50b are printed, the ink or dye is
transferred from the ribbon section 60 onto the card surface 30
leaving blank areas or areas of reduced ink or dye in the section
60 corresponding to the locations of the areas of printing 50a,
50b. Those areas of the section 60 used to print the areas of
printing 50a, 50b are considered no longer suitable for printing.
However, the unused areas in the section 60 are suitable for
further printing, and because the intended areas of printing 52a,
52b do not overlap the areas on the section 60 used to print the
areas of printing 50a, 50b, the areas of printing 52a, 52b can be
printed using the section of ribbon 60.
[0030] In one embodiment, the ribbon 18 can be a monochromatic
ribbon containing a single color, such as black, yellow, magenta,
cyan, or the like, of dye or ink. In this embodiment, the section
60 of the print ribbon may be a defined panel in the ribbon 18
(i.e. one of many distinctly identifiable panels), or the section
60 can simply be an area of the ribbon 18 (for example the area
between the broken lines 62, 64 in FIG. 3) that has a length
(measured in a straight line between the broken lines 62, 64 that
is parallel to longitudinal edges 66, 68 of the ribbon 18) that is
greater than the length (or longest dimension) of the card 26.
[0031] In another embodiment, the ribbon 18 can be a multi-color
ribbon, such as a YMCK (y=yellow; m=magenta; c=cyan; k=black)
ribbon, containing a plurality of sequential YMCK panels.
[0032] If some portions of the printing on one surface would
overlap with the intended printing on the opposite surface, but
some portions do not overlap, the non-overlapping portions can be
printed using the same section of the print ribbon, while the
overlapping portions can be printed using separate sections of the
print ribbon. For example, if the intended printing 50a overlaps
the intended printing 52a, but the printing 50b does not overlap
the printing 52b, the same section of the print ribbon can be used
to print both the printing 50b and the printing 52b, while a new
section of print ribbon can be used to print the printing 52a due
to the overlap.
[0033] In some embodiments, a percentage basis can be used to
control whether the same section of print ribbon is used to print
non-overlapping printing on the surface 32. For example, if the
amount of non-overlapping printing on the surface 32 does not
exceed a preselected amount of the total printing to be conducted
on the surface 32, then a new section of print ribbon can be used
to print both overlapping and non-overlapping data on the surface
32 as it may be determined to be faster to simply use the new
section of print ribbon rather than have to reverse direction of
the print ribbon to print the non-overlapping printing. However, if
the amount of non-overlapping printing on the surface 32 exceeds
the preselected amount of the total printing to be conducted on the
surface 32, then the non-overlapping data can be printed using the
previously used first section of the print ribbon
[0034] The relative closeness of the areas of printing 50a, 50b,
52a, 52b, especially their closeness longitudinally (i.e. in the
longitudinal direction L-L) can also be used as a factor in
determining whether to reuse the section 60 of ribbon to print the
areas of printing 52a, 52b on the surface 32. When reversing the
direction of the print ribbon 18 to reposition the section 60 for
printing on the surface 32, the section 60 may not be precisely
repositioned, especially in the longitudinal direction L-L.
Therefore, if an intended area of printing on the surface 32 will
be too close to an area of printing on the surface 30 such that an
area of the section 60 that was used to print on the surface 30
could unintentionally overlap an area to be printed on the surface,
the printer controller 42 could determine that a new section of the
print ribbon should be used to print the areas of printing on the
surface 32 even if the raw print data suggests that there would be
no overlap.
[0035] In some embodiments, the ability to reuse the print ribbon
section can be selectively controlled on the printer by a user via
a user selectable enable/disable feature. So when the ribbon
section reuse feature is desired, the user can select the enable
feature to enable reuse. When the ribbon section reuse feature is
not desired, the use can select the disable feature.
[0036] Turning to FIG. 4 together with FIG. 1, a method of printing
on the card 26 will be described. The card 26 is input into the
printer 10 with the surface 30 facing upward and the surface 32
facing downward. The card 26 is transported to the printing
mechanism 14 to a position ready for printing on the surface 30.
Based on the print data that has been input to the printer
controller 42, at box 72 the printer controller 42 then causes the
surface 30 to be printed using a section of the print ribbon
18.
[0037] After printing on the surface 30 is completed, the card 26
is transported to the card reorienting mechanism 36. At box 74, the
card reorienting mechanism 36 flips the card 26 over so that the
surface 32 is now facing upward, and the card is transported back
to the print mechanism 14 for printing on the surface 32. If the
card 26 is transported upstream of the print mechanism 14 for a
subsequent forward repass through the print mechanism 14, at box 76
the print ribbon 18 is also reversed in direction to bring the
section of the print ribbon that was used to print the surface 30
back to a position for reuse for printing on the surface 32.
Alternatively, if the surface 32 of the card 26 is to be printed
during a reverse pass through the print mechanism 14 in a direction
toward the input 28, the print ribbon 18 is reversed in direction
to the appropriate position for reuse in printing the surface
32.
[0038] Once the card 26 and the section of print ribbon are
properly positioned relative to one another, at box 78 the printer
controller 42 causes the print mechanism 74 to print on the card
surface 32 using the same section of print ribbon that was used to
print on the surface 30.
[0039] As discussed above, the printer controller 42 knows the
content, locations and color(s) of what has been printed on the
surface 30. When the surface 32 is to be printed after printing the
surface 30, the printer controller 42 compares the printing to be
printed on the surface 32 with the printing on the surface 30 to
determine if any of the printing areas overlap. For example, the
comparison can be performed by the printer controller 42 by
comparing an image of the printed surface 30 with an intended
printed image of the surface 32.
[0040] The comparison can be performed on a per color basis. For
example, an image of the black (or yellow, or cyan, or magenta,
etc.) printing on the surface 30 is compared with the intended
black (or yellow, or cyan, or magenta, etc.) printing on the
surface 32. For a particular color, any intended printing areas of
that color on the surface 32 that do not overlap with a printing
area for that color on the surface 30 can be printed using the same
section of the print ribbon 18. In a specific example of black
printing using a YMCK print ribbon containing YMCK panels, YMCK
printing can be performed on the card surface 30. Thereafter, if it
is determined that the intended black printing to be performed on
the surface 32 does not overlap with the black printing performed
on the surface 30, the YMCK print ribbon can be rewound to the K
(or black) panel used to print on the surface 30, and that K panel
is used to print the black printing on the surface 32. A similar
approach can be used for the YMC panels as well.
[0041] The examples disclosed in this application are to be
considered in all respects as illustrative and not limitative. The
scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather
than by the foregoing description; and all changes which come
within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are
intended to be embraced therein.
* * * * *